Let me state right up-front that I am not an eco-warrior or anything close. I own 3 chainsaws and don’t hesitate to use them on my 2 acres. That said, I do appreciate companies who use recycled materials where possible. Thinksound is such a company—and then some. They go out of their way to be [...]
Bill Henderson
Geneva Labs has been making many different high-end speakers for a while now. Even though they make many models, S, M, L, XL and XXL, they’ve all been box-shaped and visual clones of each other—only in different sizes. That’s about to change in a dramatic way. Geneva has introduced the the AeroSphère series, an audio [...]
Bang & Olufsen has always been about style as well as sound. Nothing else looks like a B&O product—nothing. You can spot them a mile away. As we transition into a world of personal listening, nothing has changed the B&O philosophy—to evoke senses (their words). The B&O H6 and H8 headphones certainly do that. They are simply [...]
Picture this: You’re cruising down the street plugged into your smartphone but the power is beginning to run low. You want to keep listening, but you’re afraid of draining the battery completely if you do. Now, picture this: You just keep listening anyway because the headphone is charging your smartphone. You read that right. In [...]
Lately, I’ve been considering upgrading my Onkyo stereo receiver. It’s about 8 years old and doesn’t have wifi, Bluetooth, USB or even HDMI. But it does have a nice sub output for my (even older) Pioneer subwoofer—but that’s another story. There have been countless times that I’ve wished I could easily stream my iPhone to [...]
One of the trends coming out of the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show is turning portable Bluetooth speakers into bigger portable Bluetooth speakers. It’s not a new trend, but it is increasing. Ultimate Ears has joined the fray with its new UE Megaboom speaker. Like the original Boom, the Megaboom blasts audio in 360°. The big [...]
There’s an old saying: “You can never be too thin or too rich.” In today’s tech-driven world, I would like to add to that: “You can never have enough backup power.” It’s grammatically clumsy to be sure, but it’s also true. We are more dependent than ever on places to plug in and recharge our [...]
Fugoo speakers were—and still are—one of my favorite audio products of 2014. I can’t say enough about how a small Bluetooth speaker has captured my attention the way the Fugoo speakers have. If there is one criticism I have with these indestructible mini-audio blasters is that they are just that … mini. As good as [...]
I’ve taken my shots at Bluetooth over the years, but even I have to admit, it’s getting better all the time. As Bluetooth matures and improves, so do the speakers and headphones that incorporate it. Pendulumic (say that fast five times) makes wireless Bluetooth headphones exclusively. And since they do only that, Pendulumic claims that [...]
When does a Bluetooth speaker cease to be a Bluetooth speaker? Actually, it never does cease to be Bluetooth, but maybe it can cease to sound like Bluetooth. Anyway, that’s the idea behind RIVA's Turbo X Bluetooth speaker. The Turbo X is a mobile Bluetooth speaker for inside the home, outdoors by the pool or [...]
To paraphrase Yogi Berra, Bowers & Wilkins P5 Series 2 headphones are deja-vu all over again. In my review of the original P5 headphones, I said that they could handle anything I had been able to throw at them. That was four-years ago and now B&W wants even more thrown at their new P5 Series 2 [...]
Just because you may be north of the equator, that doesn’t mean you’re more knowledgeable or have better taste in the world of audio. Case in point: Audiofly. These chaps from down under (that would be Australia) have been cranking out reasonable priced, yet highly regarded earphones for a few years. Now Audiofly is reaching [...]
Of all the new gadgets introduced over the last few years, the Cicret Bracelet has to be one of the most unique tech thingies I’ve seen. One look at Cicret’s kickstarter-like campaign video made me think they are onto something here. The bracelet connects wirelessly to a smartphone and projects a live image of your [...]
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Aiaiai is an unusual headphone company in a world full of unusual headphone companies. Design plays a huge part in this Danish company’s approach and it shows in the details. Their minimalist TMA-1 DJ headphones were praised for their sound and ability to take a beating in the sweat and beer soaked world of DJ nightclubbing. Flash [...]
Even though the current headphone market is saturated with product—both innovative and me-too stuff—cable maker AudioQuest has decided they can do even better with their first headphone, the NightHawk. The NightHawk was designed by Skylar Gray and takes advantage of AudioQuest’s experience as a maker of audio/video cables and the wonderful DragonFly DAC (digital-to-analog converter). The NightHawk combines [...]
When an audio company has a verified headphone hit on their hands, what can they do to improve it—fix something that isn’t really broken? If you’re Focal, you look forward—not back. So they decided to make their popular Spirit One headphone better by improving components and further tweaking the sound. Then they thought long and hard [...]
You may not be familiar with A-Audio brand, but that just means that this Miami, FL based company is trying extra heard to win listeners over with their new line of headphones: On-ear Lyric, Over-ear Legacy and the newest Bluetooth wireless Icon. A-Audio has recently been named an honoree winner in the 2015 CES Innovation [...]
One of the ways to keep top headphone makers innovating is a healthy dose of competition. Master and Dynamic is a new headphone (and earphone) company that could be the cause of some sleepless nights among its competitors. Their use of premium materials—forged aluminum, stainless steel, and lambskin leather combined with classic design—is garnering a lot [...]
With all the nifty bells and whistles being added to new portable Bluetooth speakers lately, is it still possible to get excited anymore about a new speaker? Especially one that isn’t the best looking, isn’t the best sounding, doesn’t have the longest battery life, won’t charge your smartphone and can’t be thrown from a balcony [...]
In just a short time, NudeAudio has become known for good-sounding, no-frills Bluetooth speakers that are also reasonably priced. However, NudeAudio was not satisfied (are successful companies ever satisfied?), so they decided to do something a little different. They went public with a Kickstarter Fund for the development of their next project: The NudeAudio Super-M [...]